The Joshi names children according to the moon's daily nakshatra
under which they were born, each nakshatra having a letter or certain
syllables allotted to it with which the name must begin. Thus Magha
has the syllables Ma, Mi, Mu and Me, with which the name should begin,
as Mansaram, Mithu Lal, Mukund Singh, Meghnath; Purwa Phalguni has Mo
and Te, as Moji Lal and Tegi Lal; Punarvasu has Ke, Ko, Ha and Hi,
as Kesho Rao, Koshal Prasad, Hardyal and Hira Lal, and so on. The
primitive idea connecting a name with the thing or person to which it
belongs is that the name is actually a concrete part of the person or
object, containing part of his life, just as the hair, nails and all
the body are believed to contain part of the life, which is not at
first localised in any part of the body nor conceived of as separate
from it. The primitive mind could conceive no abstract idea, that is
nothing that could not be seen or heard, and it could not think of
a name as an abstract appellation. The name was thought of as part
of that to which it was applied. Thus, if one knew a man's name, it
was thought that one could use it to injure him, just as if one had a
piece of his hair or nails he could be injured through them because
they all contained part of his life; and if a part of the life was
injured or destroyed the remainder would also suffer injury, just as
the whole body might perish if a limb was cut off. For this reason
savages often conceal their real names, so as to prevent an enemy from
obtaining power to injure them through its knowledge. By a development
of the same belief it was thought that the names of gods and saints
contained part of the divine life and potency of the god or saint to
whom they were applied. And even separated from the original owner the
name retained that virtue which it had acquired in association; hence
the power assigned to the names of gods and superhuman beings when used
in spells and incantations. Similarly, if the name of a god or saint
was given to a child it was thought that some part of the nature and
virtue of the god might be conferred on the child. Thus Hindu children
are most commonly named after gods and goddesses under the influence
of this idea; and though the belief may now have decayed the practice
continues. Similarly the common Muhammadan names are epithets of Allah
or god or of the Prophet and his relations. Jewish children are named
after the Jewish patriarchs. In European countries the most common
male names are those of the Apostles, as John, Peter, James, Paul,
Simon, Andrew and Thomas; and the names of the Evangelists were, until
recently, also given. The most common girl's name in several European
countries is Mary, and a generation or two ago other Biblical names,
as Sarah, Hannah, Ruth, Rachel, and so on, were very usually given
to girls. In England the names next in favour for boys and girls
are those of kings and queens, and the same idea perhaps originally
underlay the application of these names. The following are some of
the best-known Hindu names, taken from those of gods:--
Names of Vishnu.
Narayan. Probably 'The abode of mortals,' or else 'He who dwelt
on the waters (before creation)'; now applied to the sun.
Waman. The dwarf, one of Vishnu's incarnations.
Janardan. Said to mean protector of the people.
Narsingh. The man-lion, one of Vishnu's incarnations.
Hari. Yellow or gold-colour or green. Perhaps applied to the sun.
Parashram. From Parasurama or Rama with the axe, one of the
incarnations of Vishnu.
Gadadhar. Wielder of the club or gada.
Jagannath. Lord of the world.
Dinkar. The sun, or he who makes the days (din karna).
Bhagwan. The fortunate or illustrious.
Anant. The infinite or eternal.
Madhosudan. Destroyer of the demon Madho (Madho means honey
or wine).
Pandurang. Yellow-coloured.
Names of Rama, or Vishnu's Great Incarnation as King Rama of Ayodhia.
Ramchandra, the moon of Rama, and Rambaksh, the gift of Rama,
are the commonest Hindu male names.
Atmaram. Soul of Rama.
Sitaram. Rama and Sita his wife.
Ramcharan. The footprint of Rama.
Sakharam. The friend of Rama.
Sewaram. Servant of Rama.
Names of Krishna.
Krishna and its diminutive Kishen are very common names.
Kanhaiya. A synonym for Krishna.
Damodar. Because his mother tied him with a rope to a large tree
to keep him quiet and he pulled up the tree, roots and all.
Balkishen. The boy Krishna.
Ghansiam. The dark-coloured or black one (like dark clouds);
probably referring to the belief that Krishna belonged to the
non-Aryan races.
Madan Mohan. The enchanter of love.
Manohar. The heart-stealer.
Yeshwant. The glorious.
Kesho. Having long, fine hair. A name of Krishna. Also the
destroyer of the demon Keshi, who was covered with hair. It would
appear that the epithet was first applied to Krishna himself and
afterwards to a demon whom he was supposed to have destroyed.
Balwant. Strong. An epithet of Krishna, used in conjunction with
other names.
Madhava. Honey-sweet or belonging to the spring, vernal.
Girdhari. He who held up the mountain. Krishna held up the mountain
Govardhan, balancing the peak on his finger to protect the people
from the destructive rains sent by Indra.
Shiamsundar. The dark and beautiful one.
Nandkishore, Nandkumar. Child of Nand the cowherd, Krishna's
foster-father.
Names of Siva.
Sadasheo. Siva the everlasting.
Mahadeo. The great god.
Trimbak. The three-eyed one (?).
Gangadhar. The holder of the Ganges, because it flows from
Siva's hair.
Kashinath. The lord of Benares.
Kedarnath. The lord of cedars (referring to the pine-forests of
the Himalayas).
Nilkanth. The blue-jay sacred to Siva. Name of Siva because his
throat is bluish-black either from swallowing poison at the time
of the churning of the ocean or from drinking large quantities
of bhang.
Shankar. He who gives happiness.
Vishwanath. Lord of the universe.
Sheo Prasad. Gift of Siva.
Names of Ganpati or Ganesh.
Ganpati is itself a very common name.
Vidhyadhar. The lord of learning.
Vinayak. The remover of difficulties.
Ganesh Prasad. Gift of Ganesh. A child born on the fourth day of
any month will often be given this name, as Ganesh was born on
the 4th Bhadon (August).
Names of Hanuman.
Hanuman itself is a very common name.
Maroti, son of Marut the god of the wind.
Mahavira or Mahabir. The strong one.
Other common sacred names are: Amrit, the divine nectar, and Moreshwar,
lord of the peacock, perhaps an epithet of the god Kartikeya. Men
are also often named after jewels, as: Hira Lal, diamond; Panna Lal,
emerald; Ratan Lal, a jewel; Kundan Lal, fine gold. A child born
on the day of full moon may be called Puran Chand, which means full
moon. There are of course many other male names, but those here given
are the commonest. Children are also frequently named after the day
or month in which they were born.